Month: May 2006

While the arrestscontinue apace in Syria, in an attempt to satisfy the insatiable the appetite of certain hungry lions, a heretic is lounging with his wife around a pool in their apartment community in Silver Spring, Maryland. At the end of the day, we all end pissing on holy grounds, I guess (But not in the pool, I assure you). The sacrosanct nature of human rights and individual liberties will continue to be violated while certain heretics will remain torn apart between the longing to be involved and the need to take some time out lest they lose their grip on sanity and become completely useless. So, the heretic took sometimes to relax today despite of it all, and he is not going to feel guilty about it, damn it! Continue reading “Hungry Lion / Lounging Heretic!”→

I never knew my father-in-law, for he disappeared long before I even met Khawla. This happened way back in the 1981, less than a year after his arrest on March 31, 1980. That was the second time that my father-in-law, one Abdulwadood Yusuf, was arrested. Continue reading “Family Affairs!”→

The air is rife with all sorts of rumors these days regarding the upcoming report by Brammertz. So, will he drop the other shoe and seal the fate of the Syrian regime? Or will he present another technical report and ask for another extension? Or will there be some room to maneuver between the two “extremes,” which will allow him to satisfy some gnawing expectations and appease some worries, but without necessarily providing a finalized list of suspects at this stage? Continue reading “Will He or Won’t He?”→

I began suspecting that something was up during the short Metro-ride that separates us from the Dupont Circle. The “surprise” birthday was scheduled to take place at the Front Page, one of our most favorite places in DC and where my daughter works as a hostess, on May 30, my very day of birth of dubious auspiciousness. But then, Khawla told me that we need to go to take to the management at the Front Page and finalize the arrangements, and of course, Oula was already there, but that was one of her work days, then Mouhannad decides to join us at the last minutes, because he doesn’t want to stay alone at home (!!!), and so the three of us ended up going together, and Oula will be there, of course. Continue reading “A Surprise Party!”→

Syrian-American Network for Aid and Development (SANAD)
The Syrian-American Network for Aid and Development (SANAD) is an independent organization launched in 2011 in Washington, D.C. dedicated to supporting the Syrian refugees, families and children, as they escape the conflict. The word SANAD ( ْسَنَد

Tharwa Foundation
Tharwa was established by Ammar Abdulhamid and Khawla Yusuf in Syria shortly after the events of September 11 to focus on inter-communal dialogue in Syria and beyond.

The Freedom Collection
Ammar’s video interview series on the George W. Bush Institute’s Freedom Collection Website

The United State has for long linked the recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel to achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians. President Trump’s recent decision on this matter reverses the policy and does so at a time when the government of PM Netanyahu continues to pursue expansion of illegal settlements in Palestinian territories and […]

Rather than help curtail the slaughter and pave the way for serious peace talks, limited strikes risk re-empowering Assad while undermining the credibility of President Trump.Strike Assad, Sanction Russia, Support Rebels and Hold Peace-Talks in Geneva!Despite the wag-the-dog appearance of President Trump’s about-face on Syria—that is, the possibility that hi […]

Few notes on the latest developments concerning Trump Administration's policy on SyriaSome serious strikes will take place against the Assad regime soon in order to signal that Trump is serious about Syria and that he is different from his predecessor and will respond differently when he is challenged. Trump needs to send a strong message in this regard […]

Our self-appointed Lord and Master holds his first cabinet meeting finally giving us all the chance and the blessing to praise him.Not to be outdone, our other more subtle self-appointed Lord and Master awarded the honor of interviewing him to the great American fabulist Oliver Stone. The results were fabulous.Meanwhile, an old Lord and Master wannabe is pre […]

“I can definitely say the President is not a liar”Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee SandersTaking a leaf from Mr. James Comey’s playbook, “considering the nature of the person” we are dealing with, meaning Trump, we should indeed expect and prepare for the worst.And the worst may unfold over a longer period of time than most American may want […]

Mystery Solved After days of extensive research we can now assert beyond the shed of any doubt that “Covfefe” is actually an Arabanglish word. Arabanglish is an emerging language spoken by the Arabic-speaking diaspora in English speaking countries. As an equivalent to Spanglish, it combines Arabic and English vocabulary and borrows from Arabic and English g […]

A DELIRICUM OF WISDOMIn the Gulf, Putin and his hackers createda certain opportunity for which the Saudis have been eagerly waiting and Trump more than willing to take the credit. Talk about collusion. Collusion aside, pundits keep showing the world how little they understand the region. For the real reason behind the recent crisis has little to do with Iran […]

A DELIRICUM OF WISDOMYes, what Kathy Griffin did was horrible, but it’s the “butt” of her joke that is clearly to blame. After all, the most powerful man in the world is far more capable of setting the tone of our public discourse than any comedienne. And he did not just set the bar too low, he shattered all relevant norms. In the process he undermined not o […]